


in any version of reality

by Niglia



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU, All Human, Angst, Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drabble Collection, Drabbles, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Klaroline, No Beta, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, alternative universe, fairytales - Freeform, one shots, some of these are pretty old but i needed to store them all in one place so here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23575837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niglia/pseuds/Niglia
Summary: A collection of short stories disconnected from each other about our favourite couple of vampires. Updates irregularly and only when inspiration strikes. Enjoy!
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	1. father frost

**Author's Note:**

> written for the kcauweek2020 event on tumblr. day 2: sci-fi/fantasy (russian fairytale au)

**{ father frost }**

They had sent her to die.

The thought came, mercilessly, as Caroline finally let herself fall knees deep in the snow, tears freezing against her cheeks. This wasn’t a trip in the woods to gather more food, nor would the bow hanging from her shoulders be of any use as there weren’t any animals to hunt, anyway. This had been a death sentence, and no one would even ever be held accountable for it - she would simply become another victim of the cold.

The last ray of sun had long since disappeared, swallowed by the impenetrable shadow cast by the trees; the ground was a frozen carpet of snow, and pushing forward through it was impossible - she only had tiny slippers on her feet, as her old fur lined boots had been given to her stepsister, and Caroline was pretty sure that by now the cold had turned her extremities in blocks of ice.

She gathered her shawl around herself, buried her face against the warm wool, but the frozen wind kept storming all around her, stealing her hair from the laces that kept it in order and away from her face. Caroline didn’t know how much time had passed – but she must have fallen asleep, curled around herself as she seeked shelter in between the roots of a tall oak, because when she opened her eyes again the night was deep and dark, the wood eerily quiet.

And she was no longer alone.

A shadow fell over her nestled form, shielding her from the wind; dread and fear fought for dominance in her soul, but curiosity won and when she raised her head to find the source of her incomprehensible shelter, she found herself looking into a pair of eyes like frozen crystals.

With impressive clarity, she knew who was standing in front of her: she had heard the stories that were told about him ever since she was little – cautionary tales of the snow demon which mothers and grandmothers narrated tirelessly to make children behave – and knew then to be wary.

“Good evening, _dorogoya_ ”, his dark voice rumbled like a faraway thunder, forcing her to shake off any remnants of sleep. “Are you warm?”

Despite the trembling in her limbs and the ice dangling from her hair, Caroline managed a soft nod. “Yes, thank you”, she whispered cautiously. “I am quite warm.”

The lord of winter and everything cold reached out with his hand and brushed his fingers against the pale skin of her cheek, marvelling at its softness and the feeble warmth within; it wasn’t rare that human beings found themselves lost in his woods, but it was a less common occurrence for them to be some young lass, dressed so unwisely lightly and sent most likely to her death in such a chilly night.

“Am I dead?” She whispered tiredly, not really expecting an answer.

But the figure crouched next to her, and the shadows seemed to respectfully part to allow her full view of this strange and legendary creature clothed in a mundane heel-lenght fur coat and hat.

“No, _dorogoya_ ”, his dark voice replied. “I would not allow your flame to extinguish so soon.”

That wasn’t entirely true: at first, Niklaus had wanted to freeze the life out of her with his icy grip, for that was the usual punishment inflicted on those who dared walk into his sacred lands. But he had to admit he admired the young girl’s stoicism and gentle nature, and showed mercy.

He took off his heavy fur coat and wrapped her in it, thawing immediately the frost slithering towards her heart. Then he gallantry offered her his hand, closing his gloved fingers over her much tinier ones, and helped her stand.

“Now, are you warm?” He asked again, kinder, tugging gently on her golden locks.

Scarcely believing it herself, Caroline felt life coming back to her body, huddled as she was inside Father Frost’s coat. He had not killed her – he had saved her, and she could only look up at him with sincere gratitude shining in her eyes and not a sliver of fear.

“Yes, my lord”, she answered, daring to gift him with a smile. “Yes, I am very warm.”

Niklaus looked as pleased as she was, watching her looked so comfortable in his clothes. When he returned the smile, his lips curled in something devious and teeth sharp as a knife flashed in the space of a blink, but the young woman didn’t look scared, and the demon tightened a bit his hold on her.

The echo of hooves in the near distance distract her for a moment, and he could admire the surprise and the awe dawning in her lovely visage when his elegant troika drew near, his loyal horses neighing and puffing and pushing their muzzles in between them.

“Then come”, he told her, guiding her towards the carriage. “And I shall keep you thus.”

He might as well have said _And I shall keep you forever_ , for that was what he meant; but Caroline gladly followed him, because she did not have a house to return to anymore, and she was grateful, and halfway in love with him already.

And the lord of the winter brought her to his home, and she was never cold again.

* * *

[on tumblr](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/614748225628405760/kcauweek2020-day-2-sci-fifantasy-father-frost).


	2. awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the kcauweek2020 event on tumblr. day 3: crossovers/fusions (gargoyles au)

**{ awakening }**

_❝ One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles._

_Stone by day, warriors by night, We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years._

_Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again!_

_We are defenders of the night! We are Gargoyles! ❞_

_*-*-*-*_

The moment the sun went down behind the last skyscraper, the stone began to crack.

Sipping her coffee while resting her back against the wall of the castle, Caroline couldn’t take her eyes off the incredible scene that never failed to amaze her, no matter how many times she witnessed it.

At first, there were only tiny lines, the stone splitting uncertainly like a broken mirror: it started with the tips of the claws, then ran upwards towards his legs, radiating all over his chest and the shoulders, which unfroze with an almost painful crunch. Then it was the turn of his wings - they opened with a deaf sound not dissimilar from a thunder - and finally, to her relief and delight, it was his face. The threatening snarl that displayed his fangs relaxed, and quickly - in a _blink-and-you-miss-it_ kind of moment - the dark color of the stone melted back and disappeared under his skin, leaving it still pale and inhuman in texture and appearance but looking definitely more alive.

At that point, Caroline could release the breath she had unconsciously been holding all that while; she watched him as he blinked to dispel the remnants of the magic, shaking his head in a canine gesture that made her huff a laugh. That sound froze him: and then immediately his keen eyes zeroed in on her, like magnets - as if she was the only reason for which he woke every night.

Klaus straightened up on his pedestal and unfurled his wings to their maximum width in a boastful show of strenght, then jumped down on the terrace and crossed the few meters that separated him from his favourite human being.

“Good evening, my love”, he growled soflty, carefully threading his clawed fingers through Caroline’s loose hair.

She sighed with pleasure as she let him indulge in the gargoyles’ most precious gesture of affection; then, with a beaming smile that made his ancient heart skip a beat, she offered him her upturned face with an expectant look - it was time to be greeted in the human fashion as well, after all.

Klaus snorted in amusement, but gladly complied. He bowed his head and gently brushed his nose against hers, then covered her soft lips with his own and let her be in charge of such _kiss_.

“Good evening to you, too”, she murmured in between kisses, taking her time to reacquaint herself with him as she did night after night. “Missed me?”

He hummed in assent, cradling her head in his much larger hand and breathing in her scent. “If I could dream in my sleeping state, I would only dream of you”, was his blunty honest answer.

Caroline would never get used to his way of talking. She could only blush and smile sheepishly, clearing her throat and enjoying his nuzzling as she listened to one ear to the faint noise of stone breaking coming from the other turrets of the castle - his siblings were awakening.

With a last kiss and an affectionate tug on his own hair, Caroline took a step back and gestured him towards the sky. “It’s time for your morning flight with the clan”, she grinned, taking a sip of her still lukewarm coffee.

“Don’t go anywhere, my love”, were his parting words. 

Her eyes followed him as he drew back without turning away, a longing so deep inside her to be able to follow him - but she smothered those thoughts, and watched him with a fond smile as he jumped on the railing and spread his wings. His back stood against the open air, a dark, supernatural creature ready to fly in the sky above Manhattan - its inhabitants completely unaware of his existence.

But there was something different tonight - he still wouldn’t go. Making sure that their eyes remained interlocked, Klaus raised a clawed hand to press against his heart, then turned it palm up towards her in an offer that another gargoyle would have been able to take - and, with the softest and more tender expression she had ever seen him make, let himself fall back into the void.

Caroline ran towards the parapet, gripping it with such force that her knuckles turned white, but saw nothing - only a dark shape far, far below her, flying with such elegance and gusto in and out of sight. She could even see other shapes following his, but her eyes were only for her gargoyle.

Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, she replied his gesture in her mind, again and again.

 _I love you, too_.

* * *

[on tumblr](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/614822728725381120/kcauweek2020-day-3-crossoversfusions-gargoyles).


	3. these violent delights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the kcauweek2020 event on tumblr. day 4: enemies to... lovers (westworld au)

**{ these violent delights }**

“No one is coming for you, sweetheart.”

He advanced menacingly towards her, pistol hanging from his hand in a careless way, his black hat hiding her his blank expression.

His words sounded trite, rehearsed, as if this wasn’t the first time he used them to threaten her - everything he did and said seemed familiar in a way, but Caroline couldn’t quite put her fingers on why that was.

Tears were dripping to her chin, mingling with the blood left by the backhanded slap the Man in Black had delivered only moments earlier - but her gaze didn’t waver, as she fixed him with pale blue eyes filled with hatred.

An image flickered before her eyes - _a vision of gentle eyes and dimpled smiles and a voice calling her name hoarsely as he took her in his arms_ \- overlapping with the Man drawing near, and she found strenght in that memory, reminding herself for whom she was fighting, to whom she planned to return.

“You’re wrong”, she hissed, raising herself slowly from the ground. “His love is real and so is mine… _Klaus will find me_.”

It happened like someone had suddenly switched off a light, the change in him. She saw his entire countenance freeze at those words, his previous unfazed expression blurring into something not unlike shock as he seemed to digest her pronouncement. Then the surprise melted away, and in the pallor of his face a bittersweet sneer cut his mouth open.

“Well I’ll be damned, Caroline”, Klaus said mockingly, taking a few steps back and scratching his stubble, never lifting his eyes from her form. “You do remember something, after all.”

* * *

[on tumblr](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/614936974984380416/kcauweek2020-day-4-enemies-to-lovers).


	4. haunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the kcauweek2020 event on tumblr. day 6: canon-ish (future au)

**{ haunting }**

“Handle it with care, please - that’s an original Monet.”

Caroline didn’t even jolt at the voice coming from behind her, used at this point to having it appear at the least appropriate time. “Ugh, of course it is”, she muttered, carefully removing it from the wall and putting it down gently with its face against the couch. “Why do you even _have_ a Monet? It should stay somewhere where people can actually look at it, like a museum.”

Klaus appeared at her elbow with a smirk. “It’s here so that I can look at it, love”, was his obnoxious answer. “I am what you might call - a collector, an admirer of the arts.”

She snorted. “Yeah, okay. Anyway, it’s going into storage for now.”

That didn’t seem to please him. “What is the purpose of all of this, tell me again? Because I fail to see how emptying my house of all its furniture it’s going to help in bringing me back.”

“That’s because the two things aren’t linked!” Caroline turned to him, her hands planted on her hips. As always, he was wearing the same grey jeans and black shirt he had died in, which apparently he couldn’t get out of no matter how much he tried - the joys of being a ghost. She tried not to let it influence her as she vented out some of her frustrations. “Your sister called me to take care of this old mansion for her because, apparently, there could be ancient magical artifacts hidden all over the place that could be useful for my school. The fact that you happened to haunt it wasn’t in the contract! And since we’re on topic, may I add that I don’t get why you wouldn’t want to tell your siblings that you’re here? Don’t you think that if we could all put our minds together, we could save you much faster and with less stress?”

He looked away, suddenly finding the bare side of the living room immensely interesting. “I just don’t want to give them hope in case this is only a temporary state of being for me, love”, Klaus admitted quietly.

 _Too dead to stay in this plane of existence, but not dead enough to move on_ , had been his bitter words of explanation when they first sat together to try and make a point of the whole situation. _It seems as if thanks to my hybrid blood, I’m going to be eternally stuck in between_.

 _Not if I have anything to do with it_ , had been her own passionate response. She wouldn’t let him linger in this nonsensical condition forever, no one deserved that kind of punishment. Not to mention that that wasn’t how she had figured the rest of eternity - those plans involved travelling and an epic love story and a very much more alive hybrid, thank you very much.

Of course, she might have slightly underestimated her patience in the face of an Original who couldn’t leave his own house, nor touch anything belonging to the world of the living - including her, despite her undead state. It made for a pretty ugly cohabitation, but Caroline was nothing if not perseverant.

“You know, I can understand your reasons for leaving your sisters and your daughter out of this, but - and hear me out before shutting down my ideas - what about Kol? Kol can help us. Kol has connections - he knows witches, and most importantly, he knows magic. _Please_ let us bring him into this.” She wasn’t beyond begging at this point - three weeks of useless plans and ideas and of dealing with a grumpy ghost were quickly exhausting her patience, and she had dealt with two teenager daughters at their worst.

Klaus crossed his arms, unimpressed. It wasn’t the first time his favourite vampire and him had that argument - and it probably wouldn’t be the last unless he caved. 

“You really think that my little brother, the one who has spent an inordinate amount of time daggered because of me, would help bringing me back to life?” He scoffed. “He probably celebrated my demise by draining the wine cellar. I wouldn’t risk it, love.”

 _God, death really made him grumpier_. “We’ll tackle your trust issues elsewhere, Klaus, now it’s not the time”, she waved his objections away with a twist of her hand. “You know, when you asked for my help you told me that you were willing to do anything, so tough luck buddy - I’m in charge of this project. And as such, I’ve already called your brother here.”

Apparently Klaus could still growl and bare his fangs in his specter form, which could have been scarier if she hand’t been immune to his threats for decades now. “ _Caroline_ , why-”

“So, I’ve heard this place is haunted?”

Caroline turned from Klaus to watch the newcomer leaning on the threshold, slipping off his sunglasses and hanging them on the collar of a too floral t-shirt. After taking a leisure look around the messy room, his eyes zeroed in on Caroline and the temperamental presence at her side of his not quite dead brother.

She saw him swallow with some difficulty as he took sight of Klaus, and he averted his eyes as if the emotion was too strong to handle - but then he cleared his throat, put a smirk on his face and crossed the room towards them.

“Well well well, look who’s still kicking”, he chuckled. “Put those fangs away, brother, I come in peace. Lovely Miss Forbes here asked for help, and who am I to ignore a request from my niece’s favourite headmistress?”

Maybe it was the allusion to his daughter or the simple realization that, probably for the first time in a thousand years, he was quite powerless on his own, but Klaus did relax his features and released a sigh, nodding.

“All right, fine - you won”, he grumbled to Caroline. Then Klaus turned to his brother, and she recognized the softening in his eyes but said nothing. “I’d hug you, brother, but I am afraid that my interactions with the living are currently quite limited.”

Kol’s smirk turned wicked, and in a bold move he put an arm around Caroline’s shoulders - gaining a poorly concealed snarl from his brother. “Well, let’s change that, shall we?”

She rolled her eyes. _How I love complicating my life_.

* * *

[on tumblr](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/615110572307005440/kcauweek2020-day-6-canon-ish-from).


	5. aequinoctium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ade & persephone au.

**{ _ _aequinoctium__ }**

Niklaus went to meet her in the blooming glade where she has spent the spring and summer away.

As always he’s early, and the passage between the living world and the realm of the dead has yet to be opened. As he waits for her, safely ensconced in the shadow cast by a mulberry tree, his pale eyes follow the journey of Apollo’s carriage as it crosses the slowly darkening sky - counting the seconds in the breath of the wind, lost in his memories and planning for the winter.

The moment the fiery star disappears beyond the horizon, casting the clearing into a much more pleasant penumbra, the Master of the Underworl feels the ground tremble under his feet, grumbling softly as it prepares to obey him and open wide at the first sign of his king. His eyes dart back to earth, scanning the trees and the bushes and the shadows for the first glimpse of gold -

_there_.

The air has abandoned his lungs already and his spouse has yet to set foot on the humid grass of the glade. He parts from his hiding place as if he has detached himself from the darkness itself, then straightens his person, a smirk slowly taking shape upon his dark, full lips.

It has been a while, and his hands quiver in anticipation with the desire of grabbing and holding his beloved consort - but he restrains himself, waiting for her to come to him. He knows the rules, and until the sky is still pale in the sunset and the first star hasn’t appeared as of yet, he has to wait. And what are a few more moments after the agony of the past six months?

Not for the first time, he thinks he should have offered her more than six seeds of pomegranate.

( _but then he remembers her tears and the pain and the shame of those very first days and he knows that he would glady endure an eternity of solitude rather than watching her suffer the grief of being apart from her family._ )

He banishes those thoughts with a shake of his head, for they have no place in this time and space, and bites his lips until he tastes blood as he watches the sky darken and darken and _darken_ -

The clearing is finally pitch black, and the first stars blink in the night, like children awaking slowly.

He doesn’t even have the time to take a look around, worried, before his arms are full of a wriggling mass of soft limbs and smooth silk. He closes in on her out of instinct, holding and clutching and squeezing - and what a smart instinct that is, when a laughter like bells reverberates from the depths of his embrace.

Caroline parts just barely so that she can look up at him, the bluest eyes he has ever seen blinking at him with such a raw joy in them that the dreaded god feels his knees tremble. Her hair smells like summer, salt and sea and something flowery, and the once pale skin now has the golden hue of someone who has spent her days basking in the sun.

For a moment, the ancient remorse gnaws at him: how can he even dare to take this living creature, and drag her in the deepest, coldest corner of his realm, and pretend that that is where she belongs? Has he no shame, no honour at all?

But then, her hands raise to his face, and gently cradle him with a sentiment that renders him mute. Her thumbs caress his stubbled jowls, tease the corner of his mouth until he realizes she’s trying to coax his stern expression into a smile. She beams at him when she gets her wish, and instinctively he drags her nearer - never tired of her, never sated.

“Miss me, my love?” She murmurs, bringing him closer.

He inhales deeply the honey of her breath, feeling whole once again. “Always, my queen.”

As they lose themselves in their kiss, blessed by the timid stars and the tepid autumn breeze, the ground silently widens and the Sovereigns of the Underworld finally disappear.

( _don’t worry: they’re home._ )

* * *

[on tumblr.](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/187172744124/arrenemris-im-kind-of-in-mythology-mood-so)


	6. may i feel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the klarolineauweek 2016 on tumblr. day 6: mythical creatures (satyr and nymph)

**{ may i feel }**

_may i feel said he  
(i’ll squeal said she  
just once said he)  
it’s fun said she_

_(may i touch said he  
how much said she  
a lot said he)  
why not said she_

_(let’s go said he  
not too far said she  
what’s too far said he  
where you are said she) _

_~_ E. E. Cummings

The first time he sees her, she’s laughing and dancing with her sisters near a river, surrounded by flowers, tiny rivulets of water dripping from her hair down between her pale breasts. Her Lady’s deer are nearby, quietly grazing on a patch of soft grass, heedless of the humorous noises.

Her companions are quite beautiful, but the satyr doesn’t pay them mind and his eyes don’t leave her for more than a second – his hooves scrape the ground, his ears strained to hear the smallest tinge of her laughter. He wishes to grab her, held her, run his hands through her golden tresses and shedding the flowers wreathed in them. He can almost feel under his palms the softness of her fair skin kissed by the sun; can even smell her perfume.

But watching from afar is not enough – why simply admire her when he can have her?

He follows her for a long time before acting on his desires. The hunt is exciting, but he finds himself hungry for more – he dreams of losing himself in her embrace, letting her cradle his head on her lap while he plays his flute, kissing the laugh from her mouth and breathing the summer in her hair and licking the sweat of fierce embraces from her plump flesh.

He patiently waits for her to be alone: her companions are somewhere else, hunting with their Lady, and she wishes for rest – she lies undisturbed and unaware over an alcove of fragrant flowers, the candid fairness of her skin like a clove of moon over the darkest glade. His hooves are silent while he approaches – his breath barely a whisper in the breeze. His eyes hungrily run through the expanse of her body, his arousal thick in the air, the anticipation leaving his mouth watering.

The excitement of being so close to his prey makes him careless – and his hooves crunch a branch.

That’s all it takes to break the spell – she starts awake and her crystalline eyes shoot open, falling on him. She doesn’t even have the time to scream – he’s on her before she realizes it, a calloused hand over her mouth, his large body covering hers, her breasts finally pressed against his chest.

But he doesn’t touch her more than that. He hears the frantic rhythm of her heart inside the little cage of her chest and tastes her fear, and he finds he doesn’t like it. So he affectionately nuzzles her temples and whispers reassurances, promises, pledges of love. He murmurs how beautiful she is - he admits her light has drawn him in, he swears he means no harm - if she only would give him a chance? 

Hearing his softly muttered words makes her heart surprisingly slow down and her dread recedes - and her legs opens slowly but instinctively to make more room for him.

He watches with awe her lips curling in a soft smile - a smile which is only for him - and he finds he likes it very much.

* * *

[on tumblr](https://persephonesdarkness.tumblr.com/post/142873651937/klarolineauweek-day-six-mythical-creatures).


End file.
